Closure means



A. R. RAUSING ETAL 3,348,719

Oct. 24, 1967 United States Patent Ofllce 3,348,719 Patented Oct. 24,1967 3,348,719 CLOSURE MEANS Anders Ruben Rausing, Sjobo, and RolfLennart Ignell, Lund, Sweden, assignors to Tetra Pak Rausing & Co. KG.,Hochheim am Main, Germany, a company of Germany Filed Dec. 10, 1965,Ser. No. 512,983 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Dec. 28,1964, 16,729/64; application Sweden, Mar. 20, 1965, 3,636/65 Claims.(Cl. 21S-47) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE The invention resides in thecombination of a container having an opening surrounded by an inwardlyand downwardly turned lip formed of elastic material, and a closure capalso formed of elastic material having a lid portion and a detachabletubular plug portion, said plug portion extending through said openingand having spaced apart flanges on opposite sides of said lip forretaining said plug in said opening and one or more tongues sealinglyengaging the inner surface of said lip.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a goodtightening action in a closure means of the above kind. U.S. Patent No.3,251,499 describes a closure means of the kind above generallydescribed. The sealing action of this previous cap is obtained betweenthe lower sharp edge of the inwardly turned lip and the lower flange ofthe tubular plug portion. However, it has been found that in certaincases one cannot relay merely upon this seal. In order to improve thesealing action of the closure means, the cap therefor as to its sealingaction has been developed on entirely new lines, the present inventionconstituting the result of this development work. The invention thus ischaracterized by tightening means in the form of one or more sealingrings or sealing tongues provided in the interspace between the tubularplug portion and the inwardly turned lip, arranged sealingly to engage asubstantially cylindrical surface of the inwardly turned lip.

Further features of the invention will be apparent from the followingspecification, in which the invention will be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a fragmentaryportion of a vertical section along the axis of a container and closuremeans according to one embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 shows afragmentary portion of a vertical section of a modified embodiment ofthe invention.

In the drawings the same reference numerals have as far as possible beenused as in the said U.S. Patent No. 3,251,499 for details which havedirect equivalents in said patent.

The design of the closure means according to one embodiment will beapparent from the FIG. 1 which shows a section through part thereof, thepackage being intended to consist of a bottle. The top of the bottle 1extends inwardly towards the centre of the bottle opening and downwardlytowards the bottom of the bottle establishing a lip 6. The bottle, or atleast the lip 6, is most advantageously madefrom an elastic material,for example plastic. The lip 6 presents a sharp edge 7 turned towardsthe bottom and a cylindrical surface which defines the bottle opening.

The cap 2 consists of two principal parts, namely a lid 3 and a tubularplug portion 5, interconnected by the connection 12. Also the cap 2 ispreferably made from an elastic material, whereby the lid will form acup spring and the tubular part a tube spring.

The tubular plug portion 5 is provided at its bottom end with a flange Shaving a bevel 9. The flange 8 at its outer portion has a collar 21which extends a distance H in a direction towards the lid of the cap. Aspace 22 is thereby produced between the collar 21 and the tubular plugportion 5 of the cap. The bottom of the space 22 is formed by a surface23 on the flange 8.

The tubular plug portion is besides, along the peripheral surfacethereof, provided with a number of sealing tongues 24, 25. As will beseen from the ligure the lower surface 26 of each sealing tongue hasbeen undercut at an angle of l5-20, while the upper surface has beengiven a steep downwardly sloping form. The advantage of this design willbe evident from the following.

Between the flange 8 and the lid 3 there is a further flange 10.Furthermore, between the flange 10 and the lid 3 there is provided atear-up indication in the form of a deep notch 11 to the connection 12,this connection 12 in the region of the lower corner of the notch 11having a very narrow section. Finally, the lid is provided with apulling tab (not shown) to be used in connection with the opening of thepackage.

Closing of the package takes place in the following way. A cap 2 isapplied with the bevel 9 of the flange 8 against the lip 6, the bevel 9engaging the surfaces which define the aperture. By pressing against thecentre of the lid 3 by means of a member (not shown) the tubular plugportion 5 of the cap is moved down into the bottle opening. At the sametime the cup spring, i.e., the lid 3, is tensioned. The lip 6 is movedby the bevel 9 more and more to the side until the collar 21 hascompletely passed the lip, at which time the latter snaps in above thecollar 21. The lid 3 the total diameter of which is slightly larger thanthe diameter of the top of the bottle has come into contact with thebottle slightly before. The contact line is designated in the figure bythe numeral 13. The last phase of the downward movement is accordinglyopposed not only by friction but also by two forces, namely the actionof force between lip 6 and the bevel 9 and the compressive force betweenthe lid 3 and the top of the lip 6. The pressure on the central regionof the lid 3 must therefore be increased, whereby the plate spring isfurther tensioned. When the lip has snapped in above the collar 21 thepackage is closed. The edge 7 will then sealingly engage the surface 23of the flange 8. The engagement of the lid 3 at 13 also preventscontamination of the bottle opening.

As mentioned above it has been found that in certain cases one cannotrely merely on the sealing obtained between the sharp edge 7 of theinturned lip 6 and the surface 23 of the cap. The tubular portion of thecap was therefor in one case provided with three sealing rings each 0.2mm. high and having a section in the form of an isosceles triangle withthe base 0.2 mm. This has given good sealing except in those cases wherethe sealing rings were damaged by the insertion of the cap in thebottle.

The sealing rings of this design have approximately an O-ring function,while in the construction according to the patent a sleeve seal has beenprovided. Furthermore, the number of sealing rings or sealing tongueshas been into the bottle neck that at least the lower sealing tongue 25has been passed when the lip 6 snaps into position. The cup springaction of the lid 3 then pulls the cap back the distance H whichcorresponds to the height of the collar. At least the lower sealingtongue 25 is then completely protected at the introduction and by theupwards sliding movement of the cap the best possible conditions havebeen created for the sealing tongue to turn over in the right direction.

The sealing of the package takes place by the sharp edge 7 of the lip 6being pressed against the surface23 of the flange 8 and above all by thecylindrical surface of the lip being pressed against the sealing tongues24, 25. The pressure action will be maintained by three forces, namelythe spring forces of the lip 6, the tubular plug portion 5 and the lid3. If an inner pressure prevails within the package, which is the caseif the filling material consists of a carbonated liquid, the sealing isfurther increased. This is because there will then be a pressure on theinside of the lip 6, whereby the lip 6 is actuated by a force having aradially inwardly directed component and besides, there is created apressure on the inside of the tubular plug portion 5, whereby thetubular part tends to bulge outwardly, so that the pressure ofengagement between the sealing tongues 24, and the cylindrical surface20 of the lip increases.

Opening of the package takes place in the following way. By clasping thehandle (not shown) and pulling it upwards, if the pulling force issuiiiciently great, the lid 3 will be torn away from the tubular plugportion 5 along the connection 12. The breaking will take place at thenarrowest portion of the part 12, whereby burrs in the surface offracture are substantially avoided. The tubular plug portion 5, on theother hand, will remain in the package opening because a removal of thisportion is prevented by the flanges 8 and 10. By allowing the portion 5to remain in the bottle opening this will provide an attractiveappearance by the fact that the sharp edge 7 is concealed.

The sleeve seal provided by the downwardly turned sealing tongues hasproved to provide an excellent sealing action. The cap, however, israther difficult to manufacture and requires complicated tools, whichincrease the price of the final product. One has therefore continued thedevelopment of the closure in the way that has been mentioned, i.e., byutilizing triangle-shaped sealing rings. But instead of providing thetubular plug portion of the cap with two or three rather small sealingrings one has, according to the other embodiment of the presentinvention, reduced the number of sealing rings to `a single one and thisone has been made larger and rather obtuse. Further the cap has beenmade from a stiffer material, viz., a MD-polyethylene material, i.e., taplastic material having a medium density. Previously one has used anLD-material which is rather soft and has a somewhat lower density. Thegreater stiffness of the cap material together with a larger diameter ofthe sealing ring will provide an extraordinarily high initial pressurebetween the sealing ring and the cylindrical surface `against which thesealing ring is being pressed.

yIn FIG. 2 which illustrates this second embodiment of the invention,the sealing ring has been designated 30. This single sealing ring has across section in the form of a triangle having a peak angle of 90. Thecap is made from a rather tough stiff material, preferablyMD-polyethylene. The kind of material and the sturdy dimensioning andrather obtuse form of the sealing ring will on one hand prevent ythesealing ring from being destroyed when the cap is being pressed into thecontainer opening, and on the other hand provide a high initial pressurebetween the sealing ring Iand the surface 20 due to the increaseddiameter and the small surface of contact. In the case when thecontainer presents an inner pressure, which is the case when thecontents of the container consists of an aerated liquid,.the sealingwill be further increased by compressing the tubular plug portion 5 ofthe cap and the lipshaped portion 6 of the package wall. This action,which is dependent on and is made possible by the inwardly turned lip 6,as a matter of fact constitutes one of the most essential features atthe present invention and is common for the both embodiments, the saidaction according to the invention being utilized in an advantageous way.

In FIG. 2 is shown a number of additional details which have no directconnection to the sealing function of the closure, but which for thesake of completeness will be described briefly. Thus the lid of the capmight be divided into a central portion 3 over the container opening andan outer annular portion 3". The outer portion 3 of the cap is providedwith a slot (not shown) extending from a point adjacent the pullinghandle 4 to wards the central portion of the cap to a point adjacent thebottom of the notch 11. `Further the lid has been provided with oneadditional tearing facility in the form of a slot 34 in the surfaceturned to the package interior. The slot 34 forms a short sector of acircle and is parallel to the connection 12 between the lid and thetubular plug portion 5.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

We claim:

1. In combination with a `container having a circular opening in theupper end thereof surrounded by a shoulder and an inwardly anddownwardly extending lip, said lip having a substantially cylindricalinner edge surface, a cap for said opening comprising a lid portionnormally engaging said shoulder and an integral, tubular plug portionextending into and through said opening, said plug portion having afirst flange adjacent to the lower end thereof which is of greater outerdiameter than the inner diameter of said lip and is normally positionedbelow said lip with its upper surface engaging said lip, said plugportion having a neck portion above said first ilange and 'having atleast one outwardly extending sealing tongue normally engaging saidsubstantially cylindrical surface of said lip, said plug portion havinga second flange above said neck portion of greater outer diameter thanthe inner diameter of said lip and normally positioned above the inneredge of said lip, said plug portion having an annular recess betweensaid ksecond fiangeand said lid portion which extends inwardly fartherthan said neck portion anddefines a frangible portion between saidlidportion and said plug portion, -at least one of said container andsaid cap being elastic and the vertical distance between theupper-surface of said first flange and the lower surface of said lidportion in unstressed condition being less than the vertical distancebetween said shoulder and the lower edge of said lip whereby said lidportion normally is held tightly engaged with said shoulder and saidlower edge of said lip is held tightly engaged with the upper surface ofsaid first flange.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 in which said first flange hasan upwardly extending collar spaced apart from said neck and extendingupwardly at least to the level of said sealing tongue.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 in which said sealing tongue istriangular in cross section.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1 comprising 5 6 at least twospaced apart outwardly and downwardly ex- References Cited tendingsealing tongues on said neck portion normally en- UNITED STATES PATENTSgaging said cylindrical surface on said lip.

5. The combination as defined in claim 2 comprising 3191798 6/149 'Covenet al' 21247 fat least two sealing tongues on said neck normally engag-5 3199748 8/196 Bross 21 '47 ing said `cylindrical surface on said lip,`at least one of x. which is below the level of the upper surface ofsaid THERON E' CONDON Pnmary Examiner' collar. JAMES B. MARBERT,Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CONTAINER HAVING A CIRCULAR OPENING IN THEUPPER END THEREOF SURROUNDED BY A SHOULDER AND AN INWARDLY ANDDOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LIP, SAID LIP HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICALINNER EDGE SURFACE, A CAP FOR SAID OPENING COMPRISING A LID PORTIONNORMALLY ENGAGING SAID SHOULDER AND AN INTEGRAL, TUBULAR PLUG PORTIONEXTENDING INTO AND THROUGH SAID OPENING, SAID PLUG PORTION HAVING AFIRST FLANGE ADJACENT TO THE LOWER END THEREOF WHICH IS OF GREATER OUTERDIAMETER THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID LIP AND IS NORMALLY POSITIONEDBELOW SAID LIP WITH ITS UPPER SURFACE ENGAGING SAID LIP, SAID PLUGPORTION HAVING A NECK PORTION ABOVE SAID FIRST FLANGE AND HAVING ATLEAST ONE OUTWARDLY EXTENDING SEALING TONGUE NORMALLY ENGAGING SAIDSUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL SURFACE OF SAID LIP, SAID PLUG PORTION HAVINGA SECOND FLANGE ABOVE SAID NECK PORTION OF GREATER OUTER DIAMETER THANTHE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID LIP AND NORMALLY POSITIONED ABOVE THE INNEREDGE OF SAID LIP, SAID PLUG PORTION HAVING AN ANNULAR RECESS BETWEENSAID SECOND FLANGE AND SAID LID PORTION WHICH EXTENDS INWARDLY FARTHERTHAN SAID NECK PORTION AND DEFINES A FRANGIBLE PORTION BETWEEN SAID LIDPORTION AND SAID PLUG PORTION, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CONTAINER AND SAIDCAP BEING ELASTIC AND THE VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE UPPER SURFACE OFSAID FIRST FLANGE AND THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID LID PORTION INUNSTRESSED CONDITION BEING LESS THAN THE VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN SAIDSHOULDER AND THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID LIP WHEREBY SAID LID PORTIONNORMALLY IS HELD TIGHTLY ENGAGED WITH SAID SHOULDER AND SAID LOWER EDGEOF SAID LIP IS HELD TIGHTLY ENGAGED WITH THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FIRSTFLANGE.